News about agriculture in New York State and information farmers and consumers can use in their daily lives.

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Taste NY Food Truck Competition Expands at New York State Fair

From the state Department of Agriculture and Markets:

The
Great New York State Fair today (Feb. 15) announced that its Taste NY Food Truck
Competition will expand to two days for the 2017 Fair.

The competition
to find the best entrée, served by food truck chefs
and made with New York state grown and produced ingredients, will take
place Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 2 and 3. Food trucks entered in the competition will be located around Chevy Court.

“Taste NY represents the very best of New York agriculture and having
our food truck chefs cook up exciting, new dishes for our panel of
judges and for fairgoers is a great way to promote New York grown and
produced foods," said Ag and Markets Commissioner Richard Ball. "With the competition expanded to
two days, we look forward to seeing every region of New York state
represented.”

“The 2016 competition
featured some amazing food and big crowds of people waiting patiently
to buy a sample," said Acting State Fair Director Troy Waffner. "We’re expanding the competition to a second day so
more people can participate and enjoy some of the best foods grown and
made in New York state.”

To
take part in the competition, food truck operators design signature
entrées using primarily New York state products. A panel of judges made
up of food industry experts and enthusiasts will sample
the entrees to select a Judges’ Choice winner on both Saturday and Sunday.

Truck vendors can then sell sample-sized portions of their entrée for $3 to
fairgoers, who can cast one vote for the entrée they liked best. Those
votes will then be tallied to declare the
People’s Choice winners.

Each daily winner of the Judges’ Choice and
People’s Choice will receive a $750 gift card to Maines Food and Party
Warehouse, while the People’s Choice runner-up will receive a portable
generator on each day.

In
2016, Silo Food Truck of Ovid won the Judges’ Choice award for its
Telekinetic Fried Chicken, a fried drumstick over a slaw flavored with
peach and raspberry and purple sticky rice, while The
Meatball Cup from The Meatball Truck of Rochester won the People’s
Choice.